Portal Prelude — The Ballad of Chell
by X4C1M2
Summary: How did Chell really end up in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center? She wasn't there by accident. No, in fact, she chose to be there. The story of Chell leading up to the events of Portal.
1. A Life, Not Alive

_Reality is a story the mind tells itself._

— Dr. Doug Rattman

**Monday, July 21, 2081**

All her life, Chell Kolminski has waited for something that would define her life. As the morning subway passed volatility over her twenty-storey apartment, she was woken to the same life that waited for her as she slept. She pressed her head down, as she tried to stretch out the muscles in her neck. She had been sleeping on the same mattress for over a decade, but never gotten around to buying a new one. She got out from under the faded sheets and walked to her small, yet tidy, bathroom. A single incandescent light bulb lit the room, as its hum was soon silenced by running water. Chell always hated using the gel tooth paste, she wanted the paste, but it was never on sale. She brushed her teeth as the sink slowly began to clog. She continued with her daily morning routine as she left her apartment with a bagel at hand.

As she walked down the crowded streets of New York, she pulled her hand out of her pocket to check the time. A five dollar bill that was considerably crumpled fell out and blew down the streets by the wind of passing vehicles. She chased it, casually, for nearly ten minutes, but only to witness it being found by a ten-year-old and her mother. _That little bitch stole my lunch_, she thought. She continued to the subway as cars decorated in high-durability electroluminescent wire passed both over and under her. Before walking down the stairs, where the vintage Helvetica signs from 2011 still hung, she noticed a silver Lexus R-1451 pass by. She watched it at a red light, in total envy, as its simple beauty drew her breathless. Chell always loved vehicles, but never bought one because it would just put her in more debt. She walked down the stairs as if left and boarded the Blue Line. As the train traveled over skyscrapers and highways, she saw the _Bermuda Big Screen _advertize Aperture Science's new household sentry turrets. _What a useless invention_, she though as she held the stainless steel handrail in the subway filled with subtle, indistinct chatter. She arrived at her stop and stepped off the subway. Chell hated crowded subways.

Walking through the revolving doors, Chell was greeted by the unhealthily-euphoric secretary.

"Good morning, Chell!" She said enthusiastically.

Chell smiled and quickly walked to the elevator in hope that a conversation wouldn't occur. The elevator doors opened, and before Chell could leave and take the next one, a handsome man in a navy blue suit greeted her,

"Ah, Chell! Good morning!"

"Morning, Charlie," She smiled as she tightened the strap on her purse, trying to look busy.

"So, I didn't see you at the potluck yesterday? Where were you?"

"My house was broken into, so I had to check that out," She said staring at the LCD display that said they were twenty floors away from their destination. "It turns out that auto-lock doors only work when you put your key in them,"

"Really? Because my sister has one and she says it works flawlessly," Charlie fixed his $800.00 square Dior glasses.

"Who would have guessed," Chell said willing to give up a lung to exit the elevator.

"So," Charlie began as his voice softened, "What are you doing tonight?"

The elevator doors opened and an automated voice announced,

"Floor six-hundred twenty-three. Florcan Logistics."

Chell quickly left the elevator as she turned and looked at Charlie,

"The answer's still no," she said as the doors closed and the elevator proceeded upward.

Chell walked past the minefield of cubicles as telephones rang and a plethora of service representatives put on their best "I am concerned, but I really couldn't give less of a shit" voices. As she walked to her desk, a little Filipino lady in a dark red blouse looked at Chell as she spoke on the phone,

"Yes, Miss Watson, I understand that it is not working, but have you tried replacing the batteries?" She mocked the person on the phone with her hands, as she smiled at Chell. "No, the device will only accept Lithium Ion B62445 fuel cells." "You get them at Wal Mart" "Alright, have a nice day." "B-bye, Miss Watson,"

Chell sat down at the desk opposite her and put on her headset,

"It's gonna be one of those days?" Chell asked.

"I just can't wait until 10:30, so I can get out of here and sleep!"

Chell smiled as she waited for the computer to turn on, "Shit, what's the boot code again, Michelle?"

"222" Michelle replied as she took another call, "Florcan Logistics, please hold."

Chell continued her inevitably boring job until 10:30, when the office closed.

"Hey, Chell, some of the girls are going to Sparkies, wanna join us?" Michelle asked ask she waited for the computer to turn off, with her finger on the power button of the monitor.

_Oh shit, now what? What'll I wear? I knew I should have done my laundry this weekend_, Chell thought as she picked up her cell phone from her desk.

"Sorry, hon. I have to get home and…do a thing," Chell couldn't think of a convincing lie, as she was drained from hours of inept customers and questions that somehow escaped Google.

"Alright, maybe next time," Michelle smiled as she walked toward the elevator.

Chell waited in the office, just to avoid anyone she already said goodbye with earlier. There was a radio playing, somewhere on the other side of the office. The overhead florescent lights slowly went off one-by-one. Chell walked toward a big glass window that overlooked the city. Buildings with thousands of neon lights lit up the streets. It would have been reasonable to think that night was brighter than day.

After taking in the view that she had see at least a hundred times, Chell headed down to the lobby. She took the stairs for two reasons: stairs don't break down and people don't usually take the stairs. Chell hated everyone in the office. They all talked the same, they all walk the same and they all crack the same jokes. Chell got to the lobby and left through the front door. The only people left in the building were custodial staff. She walked down the city street to the subway. After waiting for half an hour, the subway never came. She walked out of the subway station and looked for a taxi. After walking a few minutes, her stomach growled. She headed to the nearest McDonald's for dinner. _What a shame, I leave school to work for school. Now I work to eat. Suddenly, I can't even afford to eat._ Chell reached into her purse and managed to come up with enough change for a double cheeseburger and large coke. She walked home in the warmth of neon lights as she dreaded another day.


	2. Aperture Science

**Tuesday, July 22, 2081**

It was Chell's birthday. Unfortunately, she couldn't afford to celebrate. As she walked into her work building, she tried to avoid people who knew it was her birthday. Before she could escape undetected to the elevator, the secretary gasped,

"Oh, Dear! Chell, why are you here today?"

Chell stared at her blankly, _Do I get a day off_, she wondered in pure hope, "What?"

"Everyone's in Michigan. Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?" Chell walked toward to desk and plopped her huge grey bag down. The bag made little noise as it was filled with wads of stolen napkins and Taco Bell hot sauce.

"Some Aperture Turrets went haywire. All the computers—everything—was lost."

Chell tried to look surprised, "You mean the turrets that were designed to protect us?"

"Luckily no one was hurt."

"So I can leave?" Chell said tapping her fingernails on the mahogany desk.

"Here," the secretary handed Chell a little glowing ball.

"What is this?" Chell asked as its light tinted her face blue.

"The _Aperture Science Insta-Port_" the secretary read off a manila folder, "Our offices have been temporarily relocated to Aperture. See, they're expanding, so they have nothing to do with their old offices. They heard what happened to us, so they let us lease it half price!"

"Any suggestions how I can travel 800 miles in the next…ten minutes?" Chell looked at the holographic clock just over the secretary's desk. The secretary pointed to the Aperture Science Insta-Port and she took a sip of her coffee. "I am _not_ using this thing; you saw what happened with the turrets!"

"Well, unless you come up with six hundred bucks to use Black Mesa's public teleporter. That balls the only thing from getting you fired."

Chell looked at the ball and then back up at the secretary, "Okay, fine. How does it work?"

"Just throw it at a flat surface and walk through."

"And walk through_ what_?

"You'll see," the secretary took another sip of her coffee and started typing away on her computer.

Reluctantly, Chell threw the ball on the floor, with unprecedented force. A hole in the ground appeared and the edges were glowing blue. It was if it was on fire, but there was no heat. Chell looked at the secretary; she was well into her work. Chell closed her eyes and slowly walked toward the hole. She let out a heavy breath and jumped through. She watched as her familiar workplace suddenly vanished. Chell felt lost; it was as gravity had little influence over her as she fell. She hit the ground and landed on her hands. She looked up and the hole was gone. She stood up and dusted herself off. A corridor that was so long, it appeared to taper off was where she landed. The doors were white, the walls were white. Chell squinted as she tried to figure out which door to go through. None of the doors had labels. _Whose bright idea was this? _She thought as she reaches for the nearest door handle. When she touched it, an automated voice spoke out,

"Boiler room. Security clearance level three required."

"Oh,"

Chell went through several door handles in hope of finding a "Florcan Logistics" or anything within the topic. Most of the doors required a security passes and identification, none of which Chell was in position of. She went through every door, one by one, hoping to find a way out of the corridors that felt like a prison. She frantically ran from one door to a next, as she began to breath heavier. Eventually, she came across a door that opened,

"Aperture Science Beta Testing Debriefing. No clearance required." The door opened and a gust of wind pulled her in. She walked down a hall that had various rooms on both sides. One room was manufacturing what appeared to be ballpoint pens. Another room had an array of mechanical arms putting together vehicles. The room next to it was responsible for painting them. Chell pressed her hand to the glass. A loud breath left a fog, blocking her vision. The newly-painted, Aperture-endorsed Lexus R-1451 automatically drove out of the room. She walked down to corridor witnessing what extravagant machines Aperture created. She began to second-think her undying hatred for the globalized corporation. After several minutes of wandering, Chell heard the door she came in open from a distance. She scurried to the end of the hallway and found a glass room crowded with people.

She slowly made her way closer and she listened in on the PowerPoint presentation going on,

"Now our policy at Aperture is that we can't guide you through the testing. We can only intervene if you are dead or dying," a man in a white coat spoke out to nearly a hundred people as he laughed at his own terrible joke. Chell stooped and tried to inch herself closer to hear behind the glass barrier.

"What do you think you're doing," an Aperture employee asked. He had a rolled up newspaper in his hand and tapped it on Chell's shoulder.

"I…uh…got lost," Chell replied as she quickly stood up straight. She got unbearably light headed as all the blood rushed from her head.

"Are you here for testing?"

Chell tried to stand without collapsing. She took a deep breath and contemplated whether or not she should come clean. _What's the worst that could happen? I mean, Aperture IS the reason why I'm here, right now. Maybe this is my destiny? No, shit like that only happens in movies. And Chinese proverbs. Aperture? Sons of bitches stole my life from me. I should fuck everyone up in here, right here and now. No…that'll only make my situation worse. I think dying would be better than prison, but let's be rational here. Hmm…I wonder what these people are testing. Are they even getting paid a lot? Of course they're getting paid; they're testing for Aperture bloody Science! Anything's gotta be better than "Florcan Logistics, how may I help your seemingly miserable life by solving a problem you were too lazy to figure out by reading the fucking manual!". I nearly forgot that my rent is due tomorrow—I definitely won't have enough. If these guys really want me, they must have some sort of place where I could sleep for a day or two. They'll probably pump actual oxygen into the rooms! It's been a while since I've breathed 100% pure diatomic molecules of oxygen. The god damned city will be the death of me. And I'm no better off dead. This better be worth it._

_ "_Yes."


End file.
